Diabetes and Alcohol

The American Diabetes Association recommends these guidelines for drinking alcohol in moderation: limiting alcohol intake to no more than one serving per day for women, and no more than two servings per day for men.

One serving of alcohol is defined as: 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1½ ounces of distilled spirits.

True! If you take insulin or types of diabetes pills that stimulate your pancreas to release insulin, drinking alcohol does place you at higher risk of having low blood sugars. Normally, the liver releases glucose to maintain blood sugar levels. But when you drink alcohol, the liver is busy breaking the alcohol down, so it does a poor job of releasing glucose into the bloodstream. So the blood sugar lowering effect of the medicine combines with the blood sugar lowering effect of the alcohol to increase the risk of a low blood sugar.

The best bet is drinking alcohol along with a meal or snack that contains carbohydrates. While the carbohydrate in sugary alcoholic beverages may raise the blood sugar, it is not a reliable way to sustain blood sugar levels. Remember that liquids digest faster than solids, and substituting alcohol for a meal, or skipping meals, may increase your risk of having a low blood sugar.